What do these lyrics mean?

I know a place
Ain't nobody cryin'
Ain't nobody worried
Ain't no smilin' faces
Mmm, no no
Lyin' to the races

The whole song sounds all nice and good, but "Ain't no smiling faces / Lying to the races" ???

[x]
May 15th, 2006 1:08pm

Is this like a "You weren't alive at the time so you wouldn't understand" kind of thing, or is this something that pretty much flies over everybody's head?

[x]
May 15th, 2006 1:14pm

I take "smiling faces" to mean a fake patronizing smile one uses with an inferior.

son of parnas
May 15th, 2006 1:15pm

"One of the finest examples of Caribbean rhythms being worked into soul music, completing a circle forming for at least a decade. Of course, the Staples' origin as gospel singers didn't hurt this move for utopia: "there" is Heaven itself, a place where there "ain't no smiling faces / lying to the races." Contains what may be rock's most ethereal bass solo; the groove was so deep James Brown was envious."

"So we got a rhythm section, you know that was the first rhythm section that we had was with I’ll take you there and so we were singing “I know a place, ain’t nobody crying, ain’t nobody worried, ain’t no smiling faces lying to the races.’ Where else would we be taking you but to heaven."